Breaking The Law
by serenelystrange
Summary: Sequel to "People Like Us." Parker's convinced Eliot to break the law.. but what law do two expert thieves have left to break? This story came as a surprise to me, I had never intended a sequel, so I hope you like it. UPDATED & COMPLETE. :D
1. Chapter 1

A/N – So a while back I wrote a little Eliot/Parker friendship fic called "People Like Us." This is a sequel to that story, but since there're no real spoilers for anything, it can be read alone. But I wouldn't object if you read "People Like Us" as well. Just sayin :D Please review!

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They spent the first five minutes arguing about how to travel. Parker, ever the impulsive risk taker, wanted to go on foot, literally running against the wind. Eliot, too experienced to be quite as impulsive as Parker, voted for Parker's car. He maintained it was easier to get away if need be, but Parker just rolled her eyes. As they rounded the sixth minute, a compromise was finally reached.

Parker squealed loudly in delight as they whipped down the street on Eliot's motorcycle, one arm wrapped around his waist, the other raised out behind her, coursing with the wind. The helmet he made her wear prevented her hair from flying like she wanted it to, but Eliot had been so adamant about her safety that she only argued for a minute before conceding. At Eliot's happy shout of "hold on!" Parker wrapped her other arm around his waist and clasped her hands together tight as they rounded a corner faster than she thought possible without falling from the sky.

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When they finally came to a stop, they were both flushed and breathing hard, adrenalin pumping. Removing her helmet, Parker hopped off the bike and swayed unsteadily, legs still wobbly from the unfamiliar seating. Eliot dismounted gracefully, smirking slightly as he hung their helmets on the bike handles. Parker looked around with curiosity, nothing looked familiar.

"Where are we?"

Eliot grinned, "Just past the city limit."

"But there's nothing here!" exclaimed Parker. "How are we supposed to break the law when there's nothing to break it with?" She pouted and Eliot laughed.

"I wasn't really thinking," he confessed, "Just felt good to drive fast without anywhere to go."

Parker nodded, understanding. She looked around, but all that surrounded them were old grassy fields, long unused. She laughed as she realized that the road they arrived on had been dirt for some time.

"Didn't know there was any grass left around here." She commented. Something suspiciously like anger flashed in Eliot's eyes, but she knew it wasn't meant for her. He was in his own head again. But he just shrugged.

"There's not much. Used to be some farmland here, well as much as farm can be called in a city anyway. Still, I thought it'd be a good place to think about what illegal activity we want to get up to."

Parker looked at him with an expression she was usually on the receiving end of. "You want to _think_ about which law to break? What kind of criminal are you?"

Eliot rolled his eyes before plopping down on the cool grass, stretching out to look up at the sky. "The kind that's broken every law already. Not sure what's left."

"Good point." Parker shrugged and stretched out beside him, frowning as she looked up. "Can't see any stars."

"Nope," Eliot agreed, with a tone that suggested more annoyance than his single word statement implied. But Parker didn't press the issue, comfortable with the silence.

"So, what do we do?" she asked, absently pulling blades of grass out of the ground.

Eliot grunted beside here, which she took to mean he didn't know.

"Ooh! We could steal a car! That's always fun."

Eliot shrugged, "Yeah, but it's a hassle. And done it too many times."

"We couuuulld, we could blow something up!" Parker was positively giddy with the thought.

Eliot laughed, slightly wary, "We could, I guess. But I don't carry explosives with me. You got any?"

Parker furrowed her brow, "Only a little C4… not enough to do anything major."

"Only a little C4…" Eliot trailed off, suddenly wondering how he ended up in a field in the middle of the night with an explosion prone thief. And wondering where she was hiding the C4.

"Well, do you have any suggestions?" Parker asked, a little annoyed.

"Not really. I'm alright here." He stretched to emphasize his contentment. But Parker was not so easily placated. She hopped up to rest on her knees beside Eliot, poking him in the ribs, ignoring the growl of irritation it caused.

"But you said you were restless too! Said people like us have too much energy." She crossed her arms across her chest, waiting for his explanation. Rolling his eyes, Eliot sat up, pulling her back down from her knees to sit beside him.

"It's true. But even people like us need to be still once in a while. Not for long maybe, but once in a while."

"I don't like being still," Parker sighed.

"I know," Eliot laughed, "But just try it for five minutes. And then I promise we'll go break the law."

"Fine."

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Exactly one minute later, Parker jumped to her feet in annoyance.

"Oh, come on!" She bounced in anticipation, "It's been long enough."

Eliot just shook his head, knowing he wouldn't win, and stood up slowly.

"Alright."

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They drove back to the city within the speed limit, which disappointed Parker at first. But as the drive went on, she realized how close she was to Eliot, pressed lightly into his back, arms around his waist, and she realized she wasn't bothered by it at all. In fact, it felt nice. She also noticed Eliot was much more relaxed than usual, not bothered by her proximity at all. And he was smiling; a wide content grin she could easily see him wearing as he rode a horse back on whatever farm he came from. The thought made her laugh as she tried to picture what Eliot might have been like as a kid, before he became the man he was. All she could imagine was a blue eyed boy with wild hair, riding that horse as fast as it would allow. Feeling a sudden rush of something that she was vaguely aware must be affection, she leaned her head into Eliot's shoulder in a kind of hug, happy when he didn't tense up, just laughed and drove on.

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They ended up standing in front of Eliot's apartment, still trying to figure out what to do.

"We could rob a bank vault?" Eliot suggested half-heartedly.

"Too easy."

"Anything new and shiny you wanna swipe from somewhere?"

Parker considered, "No. Nothing around here anyway."

"We could go scam some pool players out of money." Parker suggested.

Eliot snorted, "First off, I've seen you play pool. Secondly, I'm not in the mood for a bar fight tonight."

"You're always in the mood for a bar fight! Except that one time with the lesbians I guess," Parker trailed off laughing.

"I'm not just a ball of violence, Parker." He said it lightly, mocking himself, but even Parker could hear the underlying fear that he thought that's what people thought of him.

"I know that. You can cook too." Parker smiled at him earnestly, trying to help. When he still looked _off_, she continued.

"And you're pretty." Eliot looked up in surprise. Of all the things she could have said, that was the last thing he expected.

"Men aren't pretty."

"Well, you are. And you're clearly a man. So, men can be pretty." She nodded, still smiling encouragingly.

Eliot gave up, "Ok. Men can be pretty. And, thanks, I guess." Parker shrugged, she was only stating fact after all. And then she yawned widely, surprising herself.

"I'm sleepy," she stated, as if confused by the notion.

Eliot laughed, "Yeah, riding will do that to you if you're not used to it. Not sure why, but it does. Plus, your adrenalin's wearing off."

Parker frowned slightly, "But we didn't break any laws, besides speeding, and now I'm tired _and_ law abiding! Not cool."

Eliot had to smile at her rant. He paused as he realized just how much she had made him smile and laugh that night. But the thought just made him smile again.

"Come on."

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Eliot grabbed Parker's hand, trying to ignore the curious tingle that passed through his skin at the contact. That couldn't lead anywhere good. He led them to the edge of the sidewalk and after looking both ways, tugged her across the street diagonally, then turned them around led them back across to stand in front of his apartment once again.

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"There" he said, releasing her hand, only somewhat reluctantly.

Parker stared at him as if he were crazy, "There what? We just crossed the street!"

"We jaywalked. Twice. That's illegal."

Parker was stunned into silence for a moment before responding. "But. But we do that all the time!"

Eliot laughed, "Well, we are bad guys."

Parker glared, raising a hand to smack him on the chest, but he caught it before she could.

"And you call me violent," he drawled, amusement evident in his voice. Parker, finally realizing the humor in the situation, broke into giggles.

"It's been a strange night," she said when the giggles subsided. Eliot nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Alright, c'mon, I'll bring you home."

Yawning again, Parker sighed, "I'm too sleepy. Can't I just stay here? You have a couch right?"

Eliot was surprised. When had his night become a sleepover with Parker? But he found he couldn't deny her when she looked up at him with those big hazel eyes, looking completely sane and extremely tired. So he shrugged.

"Sure. Got an extra bedroom. Sheets and everything."

Parker smiled, "cool."

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More than an hour later, Eliot lay in bed, wide awake, ridiculously aware of how close Parker was, even though she was two full rooms away. Conflicting thoughts ran through his head. Parker was crazy. But she was also fun. She was a little too impulsive, but she was also more considerate than they realized. She was a little too wild, but she also felt warm and good wrapped around him as they rode the motorcycle. She was dangerous, but then, so was he. And yeah, she was slightly emotionally impaired, but lord was she beautiful, especially when she smiled. Growling at himself in frustration, Eliot pressed a pillow into his face, trying to block out all the distracting thoughts. And then he heard the knock.

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Parker opened Eliot's bedroom door slowly, peeking in. When she saw he was awake and had seen her, she walked in. She took a moment to appreciate Eliot's shirtless-ness before questioning him.

"I can't sleep. Can I stay here with you?"

Eliot visibly caught his breath as he caught sight of her, wearing her shirt and panties, and nothing else.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Parker."

"Why not? You obviously can't sleep either, so we can keep each other company until we fall asleep." She smiled softly.

Eliot groaned, "That's what I'm afraid of."

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Parker ignored him and walked to the bed, crawling in beside him, pulling the covers to her waist. "See? No big deal. So, why can't you sleep?"

Eliot hedged, "Why can't you sleep?"

Parker laughed, "I tried. But then I kept thinking about having sex with you."

Eliot blinked, "What?"

Parker continued as if he hadn't spoken. "You're warm and strong, and I liked being so close to you when we were riding. And you have nice lips. I wanna kiss you."

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Eliot was having a mini panic attack. Parker was in _his _bed, telling him she wanted to have sex _with him, _listing his good qualities as if she had a checklist, all while being maddeningly close to him, smelling sweeter than should be possible for the night they'd had. Shaking himself out of it, Eliot shrugged and gave up. He would never win.

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"I was thinking about you, too. That's why I couldn't sleep," he admitted softly. Parker grinned and ran a hand down his chest.

"Good." she laughed when he shivered at her touch. "Now, kiss me."

Eliot complied, pressing his lips to hers but keeping their bodies apart, still trying to maintain some sort of self control. But Parker was having none of it.

"That was nice, but you can do better." She grinned cheekily at him and slung a leg around his waist.

Eliot growled low, rolling to press her firmly against the mattress and muttered, "Damn straight," before crashing his lips onto hers.

THE END – maybe

A/N – I'm putting this up as complete for now, but I might continue it, to like what will happen back at the office… but I'm not sure yet. And, no, there probably won't be any mature scenes, since we've established I don't like writing them, lol. But, you never know, I change my mind constantly.

This didn't come out like I thought it would, lol. It was supposed to be like a page long, with these two doing something ridiculous and then moving on. But somehow it turned into a romance thing. I don't know. Hope you liked it! If you did, let me know, there may be more, 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N – So I intended this to be a short little wrap up of the story… and somehow it became 3,000 words. Regardless, I hope you like it! Please review! :D

Eliot woke up alone. Not that he was surprised. Still, he did feel a little used. Parker seduced _him_, in her straightforward Parker way. And ok, maybe he hadn't been so hard to seduce. And maybe he didn't fight nearly as hard as he could have to keep her out of his bed. And just maybe he'd been too quick to hold her close as they fell asleep. But she hadn't minded. In fact, she had grasped _his _hand in her own before closing her eyes. So maybe Eliot wasn't surprised, but he wasn't happy. And then he heard shattering of glass and accompanying squeal.

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He raced to the kitchen, where the noise had come from, and stopped short as he took in the sight of Parker, still very much there, with a sheepish look on her face, but in no visible distress. She looked at him with an apologetic smile.

"I broke your coffee pot." Eliot paused, kind of angry but more amused.

"It's alright. Just an appliance. Didn't think you even drank coffee?"

"I do sometimes," Parker shrugged, "But I was making it for you. Couldn't find any of that tea you like."

The statement took Eliot aback for a moment. Parker was making him coffee. In his kitchen. In his t-shirt. With pieces of his glass coffee p…

"Jesus, Parker," he remembered the glass suddenly, "Get away from there before you cut yourself."

Seeming to just notice the glass herself, Parker looked down and shrugged before hopping on the counter and swinging herself to the other side, landing beside Eliot. He didn't miss the fact that his t-shirt was the only thing she wore. Flashes of the previous night came flooding back.

_Her skin was so smooth and unmarked; such a contrast to his own scarred body. He wondered how she had managed so long in her business without any serious injuries, but stopped wondering when she smacked him lightly in the head and demanded that he fuck her, now. He'd never heard Parker say the word before, but it turned him on more than he thought possible, and he'd taken her on her stomach, surprising them both, but not unpleasantly. _

_The second time, she was on top, and he found himself unable to do much besides stare in awe and grip her waist so hard he was sure there'd be bruises. She's just laughed and clawed her nails down his chest, leaving angry welts. _

_The third time, she surprised him by laying back and pulling him atop her, kissing him with unexpected gentleness, legs wrapped leisurely around his waist as he thrust into her. It was slow and sweet, and by the end they were barely moving, no space between them, rocking as one until they couldn't move anymore, collapsing in a pile of limbs and messy hair. _

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Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Eliot noticed Parker had already found a broom and dustpan, and was emptying the broken glass into the bin. He wondered how long he'd been standing there, remembering. Smiling faintly to himself, he maneuvered around Parker, just barely brushing her arm with his, grabbing a wet cloth to make sure all the glass splinters got picked up. Parker hopped the counter again and sat, watching Eliot wipe at the floor, occasionally kicking him softly, grinning when he glared up at her with anger that didn't match the humor in his eyes.

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Eliot tossed the wet cloth in the bin and turned to face Parker, who still sat on the counter, feet thumping rhythmically against the wood. She looked at him with squinted eyes, lost in thought. Then she frowned and Eliot found himself pulled to her automatically, standing in front of her, hands resting on her knees as he asked her what was wrong.

"We had sex." She frowned again.

A little offended, Eliot responded, "Yeah?"

"We probably shouldn't have."

"Oh." He didn't know what to say. It wasn't like Parker to think about should and should not's. But he couldn't help asking. "Why not?"

Parker sighed, "Because of the team! Can you imagine what will happen?"

Eliot was confused again. It also wasn't like Parker to care what others thought about her, and he told her so.

"I don't care what they say. I care about how they'll react and how it could affect the team! Don't you?"

And suddenly, Eliot realized he did. Not because he was ashamed, but because he realized how dangerous distracted teammates could be. He looked up at Parker, still surprised she would get there first. He has seriously underestimated her need and concern for the team. He rubbed her legs soothingly as he thought.

"Way I see it," Eliot spoke softly but determined, "What you and me do when we're not at work is nobody's business but ours."

"Nate will know. He knows everything," Parker countered, though there was no vehemence behind it. Eliot grinned up at her.

"We'll deny it. All I know is I want you."

Parker laughed, "You sound like me."

Tugging her hair playfully, he responded, "What can I say? You're rubbing off on me."

Parker just grinned.

"So what do we do for coffee now?" she asked, suddenly remembering why she ended up on the counter.

Eliot shrugged, "There's a café down the street; we can get coffee there if you want." But his hands slipped higher up her thighs as he spoke, making Parker forget why she wanted to make coffee to begin with.

"Sex first?" she suggested and Eliot burst out laughing before grabbing her hand as she hopped down.

"Sex first," he agreed.

They rode to the office on Eliot's motorcycle, against his protests. But Parker begged and actually fluttered her goddamn eyelashes, and he was helpless. As luck would have it, they pulled up just as Hardison was walking up to the door. He turned to wave at the familiar sound of Eliot's bike but stopped short when he noticed the blonde thief behind him.

Eliot was relieved when the hacker laughed, "Parker? What in the hell are you doing on Eliot's bike? El, man, you let her on that thing? Crazy, man."

Eliot scowled, "Her car broke Hardison. She called me for a ride. Wasn't gonna leave her stranded."

Parker nodded, "Yeah. Plus, Eliot doesn't mind. I'm a very good rider." She smiled sweetly, trying not to laugh as Eliot growled low at her comment.

Hardison just shook his head, "Girl, you could've called me. I have a real car. With like seatbelts and stuff."

Parker shrugged, "Eliot lives closer." She looked so honest that even Sophie would have been proud.

Hardison accepted the explanation with an easy going grin and headed inside.

Eliot parked the bike and turned to face Parker in frustration as they started the walk to the door.

"Dammit, Parker. You can't say things like that!"

She blinked innocently, "Like what? All I said was I was a good rider. We were riding a motorcycle after all." But the grin she gave him was far from innocent.

Eliot sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought. But he let her pull him against her in the hallway for a kiss anyway.

Somehow they got through the meeting without further incident. The new client was a local couple whose eighteen year old daughter had gone missing. And since she was an adult and had left a supposed note, the police weren't being any help. But the parents suspected the note was forged, albeit well, and they just knew their daughter hadn't just run off with her boyfriend. She had been taken. Eliot listened with only half his attention, the other half dedicated to making sure Parker didn't say anything incriminating. Thankfully, she didn't.

After the meeting, Hardison invited Parker over to watch some new sci-fi show on his giant tv, and Eliot had to give her credit, she barely glanced his way before accepting Hardison's offer. After all, she'd accepted before, and they were supposed to pretend nothing had changed. But the thought of Parker alone with Hardison, who clearly had a crush on the girl, still made his skin burn unpleasantly. He knew it was dumb to be jealous, he'd spent one night with Parker, but he couldn't help it. But he couldn't very well invite himself to Hardison's to watch science fiction; that would be far too suspicious. So he waved them off as they left. Nate and Sophie disappeared into their offices, leaving Eliot alone in the conference room, for once not sure what to do. Then Parker came running into the room and practically leaped at him, molding herself to him in a searing kiss. Laughing, she broke away and grabbed the jacket she had left, accidentally on purpose, and was out the door again. Unable to stop the smile on his face, Eliot shook his head as he watched her go.

The new job went off without a hitch the very next day. The missing girl had indeed been taken against her will, by her boyfriend. They found her chained in an abandoned warehouse, and freed her. Eliot only had to knock one guy out. In truth, he was a little disappointed. A carefully timed call to the cops found her boyfriend being pulled over for a broken (care of Nate) headlight. The abundance of drugs found in the trunk was only the icing on the cake. The poor girl was virtually unharmed, but clearly shaken, and Sophie wrapped her in a one armed hug the whole ride home. When asked why her boyfriend took her, she said it was because she refused to go with him, refused to take part in his trafficking, and he got angry. She figured he'd kill her before her parents even realized she was gone. But she'd gotten lucky, in relative terms, and he'd been so distracted with his "work" that he'd left her alive long enough for the team to find her. Parker surprised them all by breaking the silence in the car as she addressed the girl.

"It's good that you refused to go with him. He would've killed you anyway, it's better that you fought." And then she reached out and smoothed the girl's hair down for a moment. The girl, Alanna, looked at Parker with an odd expression before nodding.

"You're right. And now I get to watch him rot in jail. Thank you." Parker just smiled and turned back around. Sophie and Nate shared a glance at the odd exchange, and Hardison blatantly stared at Parker in surprise. Eliot just stared out the window, fighting the tug of a smile at side of his mouth.

It took a month before they got caught. Looking back, Eliot supposed it probably should have happened sooner. But they'd been so careful. At first. Days at the office were normal; they had hiding down to an art. Nights at home were spent mostly at Eliot's, who had a bigger and more comfortable bed, not to mention actual food in his fridge. The second week, Parker unceremoniously dropped a duffel bag of clothes at the foot of Eliot's bed, explaining that she was tired of always going home to change before work. He figured he should be more freaked out about Parker practically living with him after only two weeks, but he found he wasn't. He liked having her there. Actually enjoyed her company, even beyond the sex. This surprised him the most as he thought back to when they had first met. She had barely acknowledged him and he'd called her crazy. More than once. But somehow here they were, and Eliot was realizing just how much he enjoyed wherever here was.

They got caught on a job. It was all Parker's fault, really. After all, she had volunteered to do surveillance with Eliot, to spend hours in his car, waiting for their mark to come into view. Eliot had suggested Hardison come instead, but the hacker outright refused, unwilling to spend hours in a small space with Eliot if somebody else had offered. He liked the guy, but he wasn't good with being still for too long. Eliot asked Sophie next, but she merely gave him a look that suggested he should get his head checked. He didn't even bother asking Nate.

The first hour went by fine. They sat mostly in silence, occasionally responding to a question or comment from their comms. The second hour was a little more strained. Parker wanted to play the radio but Eliot didn't want to kill his battery. She rolled her eyes but settled down, watching for their mark. By the third hour, Parker was going stir crazy and Eliot was right behind her. Not one person had come into their horizon and the chirps in their ears had faded to almost nothing, as there wasn't much to say. Bored and frustrated, Parker began popping her knuckles, one by one. At the fourth finger, Eliot grabbed her hands in his own, scowling at the action.

"Bad for your fingers," he explained. Parker just rolled her eyes again.

"But, I'm bored!" she complained.

Eliot smiled suddenly, bringing a finger to his lips with a shushing motion. Parker took the hint and grinned widely in response, crawling over to sit in Eliot's lap. It was cramped but they didn't mind, it just pressed them closer together. Conscious of the sensitive comms, they made almost no sound as they kissed, slowly and deliberately. Eliot held Parker's hands under his own at her waist, fully aware of how dangerous those talented hands could be, and they couldn't afford to be that distracted.

As it was, they were distracted enough to miss Hardison telling them the surveillance was declared a bust and to come on home. After many minutes of no response, he decided something must have gone wrong with either the comms or the mission, and he rallied Nate and Sophie and headed to Eliot and Parker. And found them. So maybe it was Eliot's fault after all.

Hardison stuttered at the sight that he, Nate and Sophie were seeing through the foggy glass of Eliot's car. "W- what? What in the hell? Are they…?"

"I think they're just kissing, Hardison," Sophie tried not to smile at the younger man's shock.

"Huh," Nate commented, "Didn't see that coming."

"You and me both, boss man, you and me both." Hardison shook his head, still in shock, but unable to look away.

"I suspected," Sophie admitted, "But I didn't think it was my business to pry."

Nate looked at her incredulously, "Sophie, that's exactly your business!"

Sophie laughed softly, "Eliot and Parker aren't a job, Nate. This doesn't qualify as my business."

Nate shook his head in disbelief and went to knock on the steamy car window. Sophie placed a hand on Hardison's arm and gave him a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry, Hardison. I know you have a bit of a crush on Parker."

He didn't even pretend to deny it. "Yeah," he agreed, "But she obviously doesn't feel the same way. I shouldn't have waited so long." He shrugged in acceptance, "Nothing I can do about it, I guess. I'll survive." He gave Sophie a small smile, and she was glad to see that he really seemed to mean it.

"You're a good man."

"I thought I was just a geek," he teased her good-naturedly.

Sophie smacked him on the arm, "You are a geek. But you're still a good man. Now shut up and let me be sentimental."

Hardison laughed, "How about you, Soph? Got any equipment that needs repairing?" He leered exaggeratingly, to make sure she knew he was just teasing.

"Oh, honestly Hardison," Sophie smacked him again even as she laughed, "Ok, sentimental moment over. We need to get you a girlfriend. Quickly."

"Mhmm," Hardison agreed.

The team took it better than Eliot and Parker expected. Sophie found the whole thing hopelessly sweet and romantic. Hardison shot Eliot dark looks for a few days, but stopped when he realized Parker was getting upset by it. She may not want him, but he still didn't want to upset her. Nate didn't say anything for the first few days, just observed the couple now that they were outed as such. He was pleased to see that not much was different. Sure, they showed up together most days, and left together most days, but the group dynamic had barely shifted. Parker still bickered with Hardison over stupid things, Eliot still shamelessly flirted with Sophie, even as she admonished him for doing so. Parker seemed to find the whole thing funny, and would often watch the interactions with a smile on her face. The only visible difference with the two was that they were both noticeably happier than they had been before. And even Nate couldn't help but smile when the big bad hitter and the crazy thief walked down the hallway, hand in hand.

Two months later and Parker had all but moved into Eliot's apartment. All that was left in hers was the furniture and sure to be moldy takeout food. He had offered her a key, but she had just stared at him. As if she really needed a key to get in. When he tried to explain it was more of a gesture than a necessity, she had rolled her eyes and kissed him, her very favorite gesture. Some days Parker would already be there when he got home, especially on nights where he had been away far too long on one of their rip jobs. After a particularly bad night, Eliot practically fell into his apartment with exhaustion. Parker looked up at him from the couch and smiled so sweetly that he couldn't help but feel a little bit better.

"You always look at me like that," he commented as he made his way to sit in the reclining chair beside her.

Parker tilted her head, "Like what?"

"Like you're happy that I'm home." He closed his eyes, feeling the fatigue begin to ebb out of his bones.

"I'm always happy when you come home." She shrugged, "It's not a guarantee in our line of work."

Eliot's eyes snapped open, "Hey now. Don't worry about me. I'll always come back."

Parker smiled and moved to sit beside him, rubbing his temples to relieve the headache she knew he had, "Good."

Eliot murmured in contentment at the relief her massage was bringing. "You take good care of me." He commented, mostly to himself.

Parker shrugged again, "You take good care of me too."

"It's cause I love you, silly girl."

The both froze and stared at each other. Neither one had said the words before. Eliot admonished himself for saying it, even though he meant it. He knew Parker wasn't nearly as crazy as he had originally thought, but she did have relationship issues. So did he. He braced himself for Parker's imminent freak out, but it didn't come. Instead, she moved to lay atop him, resting her head next to his on the chair, smiling at him with a softer look than he could remember ever seeing in her eyes.

"I love you."

Eliot felt relief roll off his chest like a physical weight had been removed. He never expected to need to hear the words, but he did. And they were beautiful. Still, he couldn't resist teasing her just a little bit.

"Do you love me more than your money?" he asked, grin in place.

Parker froze, seriously considering.

"I love you both the same," she replied. Eliot laughed and leaned to press a soft kiss to her lips. She was still crazy, but he loved her.

"That's my girl."

Parker smiled back at him, "You're prettier than the money."

He laughed again. Definitely still crazy.

THE END

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A/N – wow, did that turn into a fluff fest! I make no apologies.. I do love fluff. Hope you enjoyed, 


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